With 122 of the top-125 players in the world competing in the opening round of the FedEx Cup playoffs with The Barclays, it only makes sense that this week’s European Tour event could fly under the radar. However, the fact that this week’s tournament will be used as the final counting event for the Ryder Cup has led to the Made in Denmark attracting a stronger field than it’s been over the first two years and that should lead to some entertaining golf. It’s a huge week on the golf tours as the PGA Tour begins their final stretch, the LPGA is in Canada for their big event of the season and the EPGA Tour hosting this event, which is critical for the Ryder Cup slots. Here is a look at the Made In Denmark Tournament along with some predictions.
Event Details
Event: Made in Denmark
Category: European
Date: August 25-28
Location: Backtee New Course, Himmerland Golf and Spa Resort, Aalborg, Denmark
The potential for rain could add even more intrigue to what should be an entertaining week on the European Tour. The Made in Denmark event is a little bit more difficult to evaluate based on the small sample size of two events but we broke down the numbers to find a couple of strong sports betting plays that are worth considering for this week.
Past Two Winners
2015: Marc Warren -9
2014: David Horsey -13
What To Know About The Course
What we do know about the Backtee New Course is that there will be a significant emphasis on putting this week. The first two Made in Denmark winners ranked eighth and 36th in Driving Distance while ranking 61st and 52nd in Driving Accuracy so the work these golfers do off the tee won’t be nearly as important as what they do on the greens. The first two home in 2014 ranked third and first in Putting Average rankings. The first two Made in Denmark winners have ranked first and second respectively in Par 5 Scoring so that is another statistical category to consider.
The Field
Martin Kaymer headlines this week’s field as the outright betting favorite to win at +900 odds. Kaymer is followed by Thomas Pieters and Matthew Fitzpatrick in terms of the betting odds, who are both listed at +1200 odds. The fact that 122 of the top-125 players in the FedEx Cup standings will be competing in The Barclays limits the amount of talent competing in Denmark but that could be a good thing in terms of finding a winning angle for betting on this week’s European Tour event.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Thomas Pieters over Soren Kjeldsen
There are some that will overlook Pieters based on his poor finish at last week’s D+D Real Czech Masters but we aren’t one of those people. In fact, we are banking on him bouncing back after struggling in the final round of last week’s tournament with a strong performance this week. Pieters still managed to record a runner-up finish at the D+D Real Czech Masters following a fourth-place finish at the Olympics the week before. Pieters will be determined to put last week’s disappointing finish behind him and he should have the edge in a head-to-head batting matchup against Kjeldsen, who is coming off a 32nd place finish in the Olympics following a 64th place finish at the Travelers Championship.
Top-Five Pick: Martin Kaymer
Kaymer decided to compete in this week’s Made in Denmark event in order to have one last shot at proving that he deserves to be in this year’s Ryder Cup event. After watching his performance at the PGA Championship where he placed seventh, there is no doubt we will be behind him this week. Kaymer is listed as the sports betting favorite to win this week for a reason and at the very least we expect a top-five finish at the Made in Denmark tournament.
Top 10 Odds To Win The Made In Denmark Tournament
Martin Kaymer +905
Thomas Pieters +1215
Matthew Fitzpatrick +1215
Sore Kjeldsen +1415
Andy Sullivan +1650
Shane Lowry +2050
Bradley Dredge +2550
Ross Fisher +3050
Jaco Van Zyl +3550
Richie Ramsay +3550
